


The Andromeda Anomaly

by WaggishCape



Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alien Character(s), Crash Landing, Crimes & Criminals, Dystopia, Earth, Epic Friendship, Escape, Far Future, Future, Gen, Interplanetary Travel, On the Run, Outer Space, Science Fiction, Suburbia, Venus - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-05 03:28:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17317211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaggishCape/pseuds/WaggishCape
Summary: The universe works in mysterious ways. There's no telling where you'll end up, who you'll meet, or even when you will be at. It's all a matter of circumstance, and yet we are in control. Criminals, heroes, and ordinary people alike have some kind of pull wherever they are. Yes, the universe works in mysterious ways, doesn't it?





	1. An Upright Man

The flumes of smoke were damn near unbearable for me, let alone the building flames surrounding me. There I was, bleeding out in my wreck of a ship. The wings were seared and melted beyond recognition. Navigation and other electronics were completely fried and inoperable, no matter how many times I aggressively tap the touchscreens. The dying beeps signaled nothing but contempt and annoyance in my brain, despite the dire situation.

**Major fracture detected.**

**Major lacerations detected.**

**Blood loss detected,** my space suit chimed.

**Warning: Reactive armor compromised.**

**Automatic medical systems engaged.**

As I crawled out from the wreckage, I kept running it through my head what made going into that damned wormhole seem like such a great idea. As I recalled the experience, the plasma blasted holes on the hull flooded me with a shadow of that previous desperation.

Still, bleeding out in the middle of nowhere proved to be a much better fate to whatever worse outcome I could play out in my head. I could’ve been sent into a sun, stranded on a frozen planet, torn asunder in deep space, and everything in between. I was lucky I could at least recognize the planet I was on: Earth.

It was odd to be somewhere that other humans would call home. I couldn’t say the same, technically being Venusian born. Hell, I had spent so much time outside of the solar system I wondered if I was even in the same relative time. Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, still crawling.

_Get up, you stupid piece of shit. You got yourself stranded out here in the middle of fuck nowhere. Time to see what the fruits of your labor got you._

With my only means of transportation decimated beyond repair, standing would have to become my first goal. As I spat out the last bit of blood in my mouth, I turned onto my back. If I wasn’t busy turning the dirt red, I might’ve been able to appreciate the crisp, cool wind blowing. I might’ve been able to appreciate to the calming blue sky and beautifully painted stars. No, the only thing I could appreciate at that moment was the fact that my suit still had enough power to mend up my wounds.

**Administering medical attention:**

**Pain suppressant administered.**

**Morphine administered.**

**Local tourniquet applied.**

**Bleeding has stopped.**

**Wounds sterilized.**

As glad as I was to have finally stopped bleeding all over the place, there still came the moment for me to agonizingly wait for the suppressant to kick in. As I pressed my fists into the dirt to raise myself, one by one my bones popped and cracked. I continued to lift myself up, finally able to raise myself to my knees.

“Get up **,** get up,” I said to myself. “Come… **on**!”

With a quick burst of stamina, I was on my feet once more. My breathing was labored and my stance was lopsided, but I was otherwise stable. I took a second to get a better look at my surroundings. The terrain around me suggested I crashed at an industrial park of some sort. Abandoned buildings, heaps of metallic parts, and an eerie sense that I was in a horror film were all the red flags I needed.

“SAI, run temporal and geographical scans. Find out when and where I am.”

My suit pinged as it initiated its processes. It would take only seconds to finish, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t go out on my own search. “Now for the hard part,” I said.

I drew upon whatever strength I still had left in me and moved my one foot forward. “So far, so good.” I did the same with my other foot. However, a sharp pain shot up that leg as soon as it made contact with the dirt. My suit managed to hold me in place before I fell back down.

“Yep,” I winced, “I’m guessing that’s the major fracture.” With the memory of that pain in my mind, I steadied my movement into a limp. “Easy on the left foot,” I thought.

**Planetary scan complete.**

**Current relative date: December 29, 2218.**

**Current geographic location: Assessing...**

Assessment of the bad news would come first. I was on a planet I could only recall visiting once, and that was when I was barely a toddler. I could only describe the landscape as butt-fuck nowhere, with the exception of a long stretching road right outside the industrial site. More importantly, I was alone. No communications to call for backup, nothing to call home with, and absolutely zero signs of civilization in sight. Being on the run seemed more fun in the holo-films.

On the bright side, I was lucky enough to skip the time travel part of going through an interstellar hole. All signs said the Galatic Defense Aegis wasn’t able to track me as I passed through it. Even if they were able, I assumed my crash landing was enough to convince them of my demise. Even with my power suit torn and shredded, it was still fully operational. With functionality like that, I almost wish I actually paid for it.

“Think you can point out the nearest sign of civilization, SAI?”

**Processing request...**

**Complete.**

**Nearest populated area: Oldlight, 36.3 miles, bearing west.**

“How long would it take to walk that distance, out of curiosity?”

**Given your current state, approximately 15 hours.**

“Yeah, fuck that.”

As I made it to the front gate, I was left to consider my options, more so if I even had any. “So there’s no way in hell I can walk to this place. I could wait until morning, find a nice hidey hole in one of these buildings to camp in— at the very least, pray that just one person drives down this road during the day,” I felt another pain, this time in my ribs.

I looked down at my blood covered hand. “But there’s no telling if I can survive the night with my injuries. Though, passing away in my sleep is looking mighty more comfortable than this shithole of a situation.”

I limped over to one of the outside walls and slumped myself against it. It had a good view of both sides of the road, along with a beaming moon in the sky. Even without the GDA on my ass, I still managed to get fucked over by my own worst enemy: myself.

_“Good going, asshole. You’re going to die alone on a planet where no one even knows your name, knows who you are. All for what? An experimental suit of armor and a few decades worth of the black market lifestyle?”_

It was true. I’m sure the criminal underworld had many glittering, materialistic appeals, but at the end of the day, I couldn’t even remember why I got involved in the first place. It all got away from me. Worse, my family still didn’t know just what I got caught up in. I told them, “Odd jobs, odd jobs, I’m just doing odd jobs!” Odd they were, but jobs they were not.

_I hope it all was worth it._

The night was silent around me. No wildlife. No machines. Just the breeze and tumbleweeds. I did my best to keep upright, but my body was struggling just to keep my eyes open. My vision began to blur out in the static of the night.

“Static… No…  No, I’m not done just yet. SAI… do me a favor, please.”

**Yes, user Grim?**

“See if you can hijack the nearest communication signal. A radio broadcast, phone, holo-net, anything.”

**Initiating scan for nearby signals…**

**Scanning…**

**Scanning…**

**Scanning…**

**Network signal acquired.**

“What kind of signal are we looking at?”

**Earth-type holo-phone.**

**Traveling west at approximately 60 miles per hour.**

A hover car. A freight truck. A goddamn cabbie. I didn’t care at the time. It was good news enough to know that there was a chance that I wouldn’t die alone, let alone be rescued.

**User data returned. Phone user identified.**

**Jayce Jean, 18, male.**

**Unknown alien origin.**

**Resident of Earth.**

“Let’s give him a call, shall we? Make sure it’s encrypted.”

**Affirmative.**

I waited for the dial tone, unable to resist a pained smile. I had a chance. A slim, minuscule, incredibly tiny chance. It was enough for me. The droning dial tone was enough to almost put me to sleep. The landscape soon became blurry and dark as the ringing grew more monotone. I started to question whether or not I even had the will to utter a single word to this poor kid. Where was he going? Where was he coming from? Where did he live? What would I say to him? Would he say anything back? Endless strings of hypotheticals were suddenly silenced and the world seemed so much louder.

“Hello?” the boy spoke.

“Listen. Please don’t hang up on me, I’m begging you. My name is Grim. I’m scared a-and alone right now. My ship crash landed at some old industrial site and I’m about two minutes away from passing out.”

I gave him a second to reply, but he said nothing. I wondered if I had lost the signal.

“Please, I don’t want to die out here!” I shouted, eyes tearing up. “I know you don’t know who I am and I don’t know who you are, but I am fucking terrified right now. All I know is that you’re the closest person to me for miles and I need help. Please… please help me.”

Then, the tears came. The fatigue finally set in and I was left waiting on the potential gratitude of a complete stranger. He had every opportunity to hang up the call and go back to his drive, return to whatever life he was living. He could forget who I was and that I even existed in the first place. Yet, the call continued.

Just over the horizon to the east came lights. My only chance at survival.

“JJ… please, rescue me.”


	2. Hold The Phone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (First chapter done by my co-creator!)

You know that feeling that you get. The one where something just doesn't feel right, and you aren’t sure if it’s because you left your wallet at home or if you forgot to dry your clothes the night before, but you just continue your day because you can’t pin what’s making you appear incomplete. Yeah? I’m more than familiar with that feeling. 

It was a dreadful Monday when I got the call. At first, the sudden urge to consume specific amounts of coffee overwhelmed my senses. As I made my way to the nearby bakery that had no doubt the best coffee known to this world, the icky grey color that dominated the sky became unmissable. 

The moment I stepped foot into the petite restaurant. The sweet aroma filled my senses, pleasing mostly the skin underneath my human facade. The familiar sense of unease that I previously felt washed me like a wave once again. I stopped in my tracks and frowned, my brow creasing from the facial expression. A vibration within my person yanked me back into this reality. It didn’t take me long to realize that my phone had been ringing, however, I wasn’t prepared for the response once I had answered.

 

With great block leader, >UNKNOWN< spelled across the touchscreen. I hesitated, unaware if should even bother with whoever was on the other line. It was the dreadful gut feeling that told me. I needed to  _ answer it. _

 

It was hard to concentrate with all the labored breathing and the static I was receiving. 

 

“Listen. Please don’t hang up on me” The man’s voice was strained, beginning with a single deep sound and soon stretched as if multiple people were speaking in one tongue. To say it frightened me was an understatement, but the unknown caller was begging for my assistance, and it was against my morals to leave anyone in distress. 

 

I listened to anguished man’s plea for help barely processing what the multiples voices were saying, more like whispering by that point. I could tell that man, or whatever he was, didn’t have much time left.  

 

His last words shook me to my core. “JJ.” More heavy breathing. “Please, rescue me.”

 

He knew my initials… What else did he know about me? No one in the bakery seemed to notice my abnormal behavior, yet these were the same people I see every day on my way to and from my millennial occupation as an accountant, yet they didn’t know the most secretive part about me. I was merely a fake that they assumed was authentic. 

He wanted me to rescue him.  _ Where are you?  _ I thought hastily. The one day I had off of work and suddenly I was on a life-saving mission. I exit the building and move to the most deserted area I could find. Trust me, that wasn’t easy in the city, every crook and cranny was preoccupied with the most ominous people. 

 

I finally had found an empty walkway, for some peace and quiet. The last two adjectives being complete sarcasm, I just needed an empty space sufficed for what came next. The corridor was damp but vacant. It was a small area sandwiched behind the rear of two buildings with an undetectable odor and a display of graffiti that exhibited the environment. 

 

I had closed my eyes to drown out the rest of the world around me. Car noises, people talking, dogs barking… Everything quieted into the darkness. I then thought back to our phone call. He said his name was Grim, and I was the closest towards him? How was that possible, if a man was casually dying on the streets wouldn't bystanders notice? Why call me instead of authorities?

 

I concentrated more. Trying to note anything from the phone call that will activate my gift, but all that was coming up was the uneven pitches within his voice. I felt my body warm up and shiver from within. It was working. His cries for help motivated my senses until my head spun and I was no longer in Newark, New Jersey. In fact, I wasn’t anywhere near the city. I was now standing in the middle of a field. 

 

The sky here was an odd tone of maroon. It went well with the dark grass beneath my feet. I could sense that I was still on Earth, but what part of Earth? A trail of smoke caught my attention and I proceeded slowly toward the wreck in front of me. A staggering figure limped it’s way towards me. 

 

“H-hello?” I stuttered nervously. 

 

“You came.” The silhouette let out a relieved chuckle. I recognized the voice immediately. It was the same man that I had talked to just an hour before. But as he got close, I noticed he wasn’t a man. 

  
He wasn’t mortal. If he was calling  _ me  _ of all people, that means he knows I’m not mortal either. 


End file.
